Is it bad that I can feel my pulse in the bottom rear of my left shoulder blade......

I think it was the way I was sitting.... because it's stopped now.... although I noticed it last night as well!

On a totally unrelated point....

I'm wondering how much time an employer has to give an employee as to when they are working. I.e. when you know their shifts. I had always assumed two weeks. I have read one site only which says "contractual notice". For me, as I get paid every two weeks, this would be in fact two weeks.... but I'm not 100%.

Can anyone confirm?

(in case you don't get what I mean, I know when I am working this week, but no Rota has been made up for next week, so I have no idea what my shifts are, do my employers have to let me know.... can i take the time off..... can i refuse to work? or do I have to work my minimum hours but get to pick when they are? Or what? Pretty sure some sort of general pattern will be assumed (i.e. I've worked every weekend for the last 3 or 4 weeks, so it would be fair to assume i'd be working next weekend, but during the week.....))

Well mine used to be about a week but it could change with a few days.  I think if you want certain days off you should tell them well in advance before the rota is done.  

Why don't you ask your staffing manager what days you are working if you don't already know.

Although its a bit weird you're asking this concidering you've been in employment for a good few years now

Yeah, but i'v enever had this problem.

Shifts Subject to change - ok this is acceptable, because in a hotel, business needs change, people cancel or new people book up. But if I was doing the rota, i'd put in shifts for what I had, with "?" marks on places where we didn't know if someone was needed in or not..... then they could be changed to suit. Communication with employees basically.

And I already asked,  but waiting on a phone call.

ANd I don't want days off. that's not the problem, it;s just about organising my life..... I mean, how can you plan things, 3 days in advance. It;s like, they don't tell me when I'm working, then I make plans, and they say 2 days before "yeah, your working that night" and I either can't work it, or have to cancel my plans. See what I mean?

No, that's called unfair employment practice.

I have had times when rota's have been out late, or changed late, but it's been easy to say "yes"  or "no" to changes, which I'm entitled to do. But having no shifts scheduled AT ALL, is not really acceptable.

People are mistaken in thinking that it is ok for employers to do this and think that they will get fired if they complain or mention it, but if that happens you have been unfairly dismissed.

Well, your entitled to a written one after so many months of employment (either 3 or 6). And you have a contract without a piece of paper if you are getting paid for working....... Fact.

If you've signed a contract which says nothing about when they should notify you of shifts, then presumably they're not contractually obliged to give you more than 24 hours notice?

Yepppp, well I don't have one.
And I get paid illegally too, cash in hand.

They don't deduct tax?  Do you earn enough for them to take tax anyway?

I don't get taxed nope... I earn around 100 quid a week... sometimes 70.